TheMUFON UFO JOURNAL NUMBER 132 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1978 Founded 1967 $1.00 OFFICIAL PUBUCATION OF JMFfJPOJV/ MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC., RADAR-VISUAL UFO WITNESSES IN NEW ZEALAND The MUFON UFO JOURNAL (USPS 002-970) FROM THE EDITOR 103 Oldtowne Rd. Seguin, Texas 78155 The New Zealand radar-visual UFO sightings reported in this RICHARD HALL issue appear to be some of the most significant cases in some time. Editor To our knowledge, the December 31 case is the only simultaneous ANN DRUFFEL radar-visual-movie film report on record. Apparently some sightings Associate Editor of the planet Venus were mixed in during December to confuse the issue, but the radar and multiple-object reports obviously cannot be LEN STRINGFIELD Associate Editor explained in astronomical terms and Venus had not risen when the movie film was taken. The glib, long-distance explanations advanced MILDRED BIESELE by alleged scientists nowhere near the scene do no credit to science. Contributing Editor Clearly these were the knee-jerk reflexes of skeptics who can't be bothered with facts. WALTER H. ANDRUS Director of MUFON Journal No. 130 was accidentally labelled "September 1979" on the cover; although we are catching up to schedule, we haven't advanced that fast! It was, of course, the September 1978 issue. This PAULCERNY issue is labelled "November-December" and the next issue will be Promotion/Publicity labelled "January-February" in order to bring the cover date in line with the calendar date. However, all subscribers will receive 12 REV. BARRY DOWNING issues for the subscription price as explained in the Director's Religion and UFOs Message in this issue. LUCIUS PARISH Books/Periodicals/History MARJORE FISH Extraterrestrial Life (Photos from The Dominion, New Zealand) MARK HERBSTRTTT Astronomy In this Issue ROSETTA HOLMES Promotion/Publicity NEW ZEALAND RADAR-VISUAL AND FILM CASES .3 By Keith Basterfield HUMANOID ENCOUNTER ON JAPANESE MOUNTAINTOP 7 TED PHILLIPS By Jun-Ichi Takanashi Landing Trace Cases WEST VIRGINIA FLAP: Part 1 .9 By Ted Spickler JOHN F. SCHUESSLER DISC WITH PRONG TERRIFIES WEST VIRGINIA WITNESSES 10 UFO Propulsion By David Bodner & Ted Spickler UFO RELATED INFORMATION FROM THE FBI FILE - Part 7 11 By Bruce S. Maccabee NORMA E. SHORT WOBBLING UFO IN NEW ENGLAND 16 DWIGHT CONNELLY By Richard Hall DENNIS HAUCK CALIFORNIA REPORT 17 Editor/Publishers Emeritus By Ann Druffel UFO TECH NOTE 18 By John F. Schuessler The MUFON UFO JOURNAL is IN OTHERS' WORDS 19 published by the Mutual UFO By Lucius Parish Network, Inc., Seguin, Texas. DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE !.;... 20 Subscription rates: $8.00 per year in the U.S.A.; $9.00 per year By Walt Andrus foreign. Copyright 1979 by the Mutual UFO Network. Second class postage paid at Seguin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to advise change of address to The contents of The MUFON UFO JOURNAL are Permission is herby granted to quote from this issue The MUFON UFO JOURNAL, determined by the editor, and do not necessarily provided not more than 200 words are quoted from any 103 Oldtowne Rd., Seguin, Texas represent the official position of MUFON. Opinions of one article, the author of the article is given credit, and 78155. contributors are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the statement "Copyright 1979 by the MUFON UFO those of the editor, the staff, or MUFON. Articles may be JOURNAL, 103 Oldtowne Rd, Sequin, Texas" is forwarded directly to MUFON. included. NEW ZEALAND RADAR-VISUAL AND FILM CASES By Keith Basterfield (MUFON - South Australia) (This article is a summary of the events these lights, and the echoes were said recently reported in New Zealand to be very strong. They watched them during December 1978 and January for a time then called radar controllers Australian TV Crew 1979, during which UFOs were tracked at Christchurch airport. Christchurch by radar, observed from several also picked up the echoes. The targets Gets First VFO Film aircraft on different dates, and filmed apparently travelled off the coast and MELBOURNE, Australia,. Dec. 31 (AP>— by an Australian TV crew from one were moving about in a 16 km quadrant An Australian television station claimed to- aircraft. The details have been derived over the sea. day it has the world's first film footage of from newspapers and tapes of radio At 3 a.m. Wellington radar picked an unidentified flying object. A spokesman for the Melbourne station and television interviews with pilots, air up a large echo 48 km southeast of the said the UFO was filmed flying over New traffic controllers and the TV crew, and city. Mr. Cordy said: "It appeared to Zealand yesterday. He said the British a personal viewing of the film. As this hover there for some time. Abruptly it Broadcasting Co. and the CBS television network have purchased the footage for an report is compiled on January 4, 1979, moved at 120 knots to a point 80 km Jinflisclosed amount. the following is the story which has southeast and stayed there at least 30 CBS said it would show the film Monday unfolded so far. Further details will minutes." fluting its nightly news show. *«An oval-shaped object with three bands follow as available. It is hoped that Meanwhile the five others were still around it can be seen clearly. At one stage investigators in New Zealand itself will moving around in the same area. the film crew saw 25 of these objects/' be able to document the incidents in Suddenly another showed up inland. spokesman George Wilson said here. He said the film showed blobs of light more depth.) About 3:30 a.m. a second Argosy dancing about in front or and alongside the It was Friday morning December plane took off from Blenheim headed aircraft carrying the camera crew. 221 when the action began. An Argosy for Christchurch, flying roughly the The film was made at the .direction of sta- freight plane took off from Blenheim tion reporter Quentin Fogarty, who was same course. Mr: Cordy radioed checking out a UFO report by a New Zea- about midnight 21/22 December and Captain Vern Powell and First Officer land Airline pilot, Wilson said. The pilot headed south, which would take it out Ian Pirie, 21, when they were 2000 m up said Dec. 21 he saw strange objects while to sea and on its way to Christchurch. It flying over Cook Strait, a narrow body of and climbing to their ceiling of 3200 m. water that separates the two islands of New was still over land moving toward the Wellington asked them if they could get Zealand. coast when the first UFO appeared, the a visual sighting of a radar target they Wilson said flight control at Wellington plane's speed at this point being 220 Airport confirmed that objects other than had at 20 km starboard of the plane. airplanes had appeared on radar screens knots. The crew looked but couldn't see a at the time the seven-minute sequence was Captain John Handle, 45, and First thing. Within a matter of seconds they filmed. Officer Keith Heine, 32, saw an object were asked to check for a sighting 40 POST "giving off an intense'white light, too km to port as the radar echo had they had to turn 60° to starboard to powerful to be a vehicle's headlamps", apparently moved to that position. keep on track. The object then seemed said Captain Handle, "Besides, it was Pirie spotted a bright white light to lag behind and vanished. Wellington airborne. Its light was very intense and I with an intermittent reddish tinge, radar shortly afterwards lost their could see land features lit up which seemed to change hue back and target. However, as the plane reached underneath it as it passed." forth noticeably. They approached to Christchurch its weather radar Handle and Heine were only mildly within several kilometers as indicated detected an object streaking across curious and did not make a radio by the plane's weather radar and their path. Captain Powell got a view of report. levelled off at 3200 m remaining on a bright, flashing white light which shot Soon after, senior radar controller course. As they picked up speed the past at speed. He estimated 24 km in 5 John Cordy, 45; and precision light remained in the same position seconds making a speed of 17,000 talkdown controller Andy Herd, 25, relative to them. At times it disappeared km/h. The object turned sharp right were awaiting the arrival of an Air New into bits of cloud but would then and disappeared. Christchurch's radar Zealand DC-8 at Wellington airport on emerge again as bright as before. sweep has a blind spot 40 km seaward the North Island, when they were Mr. Cordy said that these radar from the city at that point and they were advised of the sighting of five lights in targets were at least as big and as solid unable to confirm this object. the Clarence River area on the South as the Argosy plane. The crew watched Meanwhile, the first Argosy plane Island. Wellington got a radar fix on the light for some 10-12 minutes before (continued on next page) (New Zealand, Continued) the east coast of the South. Island "We were at 4,000m and flying over the had taken off from Christchurch and various lights were seen at different sea. Suddenly there was this bright, was heading for Auckland at the top of times. The exact sequence and very bright light. It was like a sphere all the North Island, on a direct route descriptions are very difficult to obtain, lit up.